Local Perceptions of Tourism Impact
The description of this assignment is rather long, however it should make it clear and ultimately easier to write the paper. I’m giving you extra time to work on this paper so you’re not extra stressed the last week of classes.
Using knowledge gained from textbook and article readings and lectures, supplemented by scholarly articles and primary research such as interviews, choose one of the two destinations from your first paper* and examine how the tourism industry has affected the environmental, social/cultural and economic stakeholders in that community. You should focus heavily on perceptions of those stakeholders, which will require primary contact with these stakeholders. A minimum of one contact per stakeholder group (3 total) is required. Emails or transcribed phone calls are required.
Analysis of the stakeholder interviews is expected. Your paper should not just be up to three pages of interviews. I don’t expect to see every word of every interview; please use your discretion to include the relevant points and findings. Ex: if your interview subject is a restaurant owner and they indicate tourists spend a lot of money at their restaurant but they’re tired of seeing so many of them, you can cite articles/text to explain the expected positive economic impacts of tourism but also Doxey’s Irritation Index.
Possible examples of stakeholders:
Environmental local watershed protection organization, local park or trail ‘friends’ group, local environmental protection group, etc.
Social/Cultural local historic preservation society, local social club such as Lions or Rotary, local community group, etc.
Economic local hotel owner/general manager, local restaurant owner, local tour guide (such as canoe/kayak tours, horseback rides, etc.), etc.
Sample questions (not an exhaustive list please come up with some of your own):
Do tourists/visitors frequent your community? What positive impact(s) do they have on the local environment/culture/economy? What negative impact(s) do they have? Do you want to see more/less tourists in your community? Why? Do you think they can be better managed somehow? How or why?
Approach strategy for your communication:
Always clearly indicate that you are a student at California State University Northridge and are writing a research paper for an upper division tourism course. Clearly ask permission to conduct a short interview with them, and that their responses will be included in your paper. I would personally suggest NOT indicating what specific sort of tourism class it is unless they ask, as this could change how they answer your questions.
It is always good to initiate communication with a short phone call and then give them the opportunity to receive a follow-up from you with an email that will contain the questions. They may prefer to just answer the questions on the phone (either immediately or at an agreed-upon future date), which is fine, just be ready before you make your call and have the questions typed out in front of you and be ready to take down notes.
**Please be sensitive to the current Coronavirus situation when reaching out. Be careful to call during non-rush times (so don’t call a restaurant during peak lunch or dinner hours). It may take a little extra effort to find stakeholders who are willing/able to talk to you, but you definitely should be able to.**
Finally, make sure to note the name with correct spelling, company or organization, date/time of communication and method (email, phone, etc.). Please check APA rules for correct citation method. Please do include the interview as part of your APA reference list at the end of your paper.
Sources/references and formatting requirements will be strictly graded.
Please review the grading ruberic for this paper.
This is an individual assignment. Each student will write an essay in response to the readings or prompt/question provided. Essay must be a maximum of 3 pages (excluding references).
*This must be a U.S. destination. Only if you errantly chose international destinations or did not complete the first paper, you must choose a new U.S. destination.
